Ethiopians Engine 54 CD

Digitally remastered and expanded edition. In the autumn of 1967, an obscure Jamaican group with a strange sounding rock steady recording, issued in the UK by an obscure small London-based record company achieved the unthinkable by breaching the British pop charts. Despite limited distribution and very little radio airplay, The Ethiopians' 'Train To Skaville' ended up spending six weeks on the nation's Top 50 listings, peaking at a respectable #40 on 26 September of that year. It's unexpected success led to Rio Records, the company behind the hit, being purchased by future Trojan owners, B&C, and rights to the group's recordings acquired by another rival, Doctor Bird Records. Although the group were unable to secure further UK hits, they remained a major force in their native Jamaica, releasing a series of major local hits throughout the remainder of the rock steady era. Issued by WIRL Records in Jamaica and Doctor Bird in Britain, Engine 54 collected 10 original numbers, penned and produced in the studio by the group's leader by Leonard 'Sparrow' Dillon, with the set including their international hit, 'Train To Skaville' alongside other such notable works as 'Train To Glory', 'You Got The Dough', 'Give Me Your Love', 'Long Time Now' and the immensely popular title track. Now, at long last, this seminal album has been expanded to include the remainder of the group's output from the rock steady era and in so doing features numerous best sellers alongside a number of rarities from the latter half of 1968.

1. Engine 54 2. My Love 3. You Got the Dough 4. Train to Skaville 5. Give Me Your Love 6. Train to Glory 7. Long Time Now 8. WomanS World 9. Unchanged Love 10. Come on Now 11. You Are the Girl - with Albert Griffiths 12. I Need You 13. Do It Sweet 14. The Whip 15. Cool It Amigo 16. Stay Loose, Mama 17. The World Goes Ska 18. Sh'boom (Life Could Be a Dream) 19. I'm Shocking 20. Sign the Cheque 21. You Didn't Answer 22. In the Park 23. Fire a Muss Muss Tail 24. Reggae Hit the Town 25. I'm a King 26. What a Big Surprise 27. Ding Dong Bell